Traveling in Vietnam

We have a few topics that we will do a post for and one that hits you immediately is how people get around in Vietnam. Today the motor scooter or small motor cycle is the most common form of transportation and the one that most people can buy ranging from cheaper ones made by the Chinese and the higher end Japanese ones like Honda. A used scooter can be $500. We were told that there are 7 million of these in Saigon for 9 million people.  The import cost and tax make a $20,000 car in the US $60,000 in Vietnam, so while there are cars they are not as prevalent.  The Vietnamese carry as many as 4 people on a scooter and many loads from birds in cages to whole bundles of every imaginable size and shape.  The cost of living is about 45% lower than the US. The average wage around $150 per month, but there are wide variations by location and profession.

Delivery Service

The roads especially in the cities are interesting to watch and challenging to cross especially in the big cities.  If you are sucessfull at learning the technique of crossing the road you feel you have arrived.  You just walk slowly without stopping and the traffic moves around you.  Its hard to believe but it works and they come within inches of you and go around.

Try crossing the street with this traffic

It is a never ending fascination to see how the 91  million people in Vietnam go about their daily life with relatively little conflict.  If we had traffic lie this we would have road rage on steroids all the time.

Vietnam has all of the types of transportation, airlines, buses, and a railroad built by the French.  The railroad is a narrow gauge track and quite old. So far we haven't see the train, but in Hanoi we were near the main train station and saw lots of people moving about to take the train.

Bicycle

Boats

Taxis

We don't mean to leave out the bicycle traffic and of course the people walking. Its 91 million people with the widest array of transportation options.